Iolite Micro Bead Earrings

Iolite

Iolite, also called “water sapphire,” because of its blue-gray, blue-violet color, is the gem-quality variety of the mineral cordierite, a magnesium iron aluminum silicate. Iolite is pleochroic, showing different colors from different angles of view. It derives its name from the Greek ios, meaning “violet.” Vikings used thin iolite lenses as polarizing filters to find the sun in overcast weather. Specimens can be found in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Canada, Madagascar, Tanzania, and South Africa. Metaphysically, iolite is used to balance between conscious thinking and intuitive knowing.